Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Paramedics are well-trained Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT) and they perform with emergency response teams for offering instant on-scene emergency care to patients. In the United States of America, it is compulsory that these professionals will have to renovate their license once in every two or three years. During this renewal process, they will have to take up Paramedic Refresher course and should clear the examination meant for this purpose.

The purpose behind this course is to keep these professionals updated with new technology, procedures and equipment. Generally, its duration is 48 hours; the professionals will be reviewing the lifesaving procedures and technique that were previously learnt by them.

The requirement for this course might be varying from one state to another in the US, but most of them include hands-on learning, simulations and lectures. Most of them enable the learners to renew certifications in Pediatric Life Support, Advanced Cardiac Life Support and Basic Life Support, even though these are separate areas from paramedic certification. For ensuring that a course is valid for license renewal, trainees can ensure whether the course providers follow the national standard curriculum with the approval of the state.

The core content of the course should include Cardiac arrest and CPR and the professionals taking up the training must be in a position to demonstrate their competence with related equipment. Above all, it should cover a number of medical emergencies like overdose, shock, etc... Another important component is trauma, which includes shock and spinal injuries. It should also cover pediatric health care emergencies and childbirth as well.

Most of them have elective components like communicable diseases and geriatric care for the professionals to choose from. Generally simulation sessions and practical training through labs are offered to the trainees to offer them with hands-on-training.

Other aspects of a paramedic refresher course can comprise of operational issues like lifting and bending procedures in such a way that the professionals can protect themselves from any form of injury. They should also be taught of dealing with violent and hysterical patients, who might cause some physical injuries. Generally, most of the courses taught them as to how to communicate with the patients, which is highly essential in any form of medical care. Only when the patients are correctly communicated about the medicines to be taken by them, they can be helped to get out of their health issue at a faster pace.